Nonstop flight route between Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States and Riga, Latvia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States and Riga International Airport (RIX), Riga, Latvia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,362 miles (or 8,630 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between NAS Key West and Riga International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between NAS Key West and Riga International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about NAS Key West (NQX):

• The closest airport to NAS Key West (NQX) is Key West International Airport (EYW), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NQX.
• The nation's southernmost Naval Base proved to be an ideal year-round training facility with rapid access to the open sea lanes and ideal flying conditions for Naval Aviation.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".
• Naval Air Base Key West pilots flew in search of German submarines resting on the surface to recharge batteries.
• NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.
• In the 1970s, Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 33 relocated to NAS Key West from NAS Norfolk, Virginia with a mix of NC-121K, ERA-3B / TA-3B / KA-3B Skywarrior, EA-6A Intruder, EA-4F Skyhawk II, EP-3 Orion and the sole example of the EF-4B/EF-4J Phantom II aircraft.
• By 1943, German submarines were operating so near Key West that they were sinking allied ships within sight of land.
• In the late summer of 1994, NAS Key West also served as a primary staging base for Operations SUPPORT DEMOCRACY and UPHOLD DEMOCRACY in Haiti.
• Because of NAS Key West's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Key West at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The furthest airport from NAS Key West (NQX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,575 miles (18,629 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.

Facts about Riga International Airport (RIX):

• As the Latvian government may be backing out of the state-financed plan to build the 20 million passenger capable terminal, airBaltic is now planning, by 2014, to build for its own exclusive use a second terminal which can handle 40 planes and 5000 passengers per hour, equivalent to about 7.5 million passengers per year, located next to the current terminal, while leaving the current terminal for all other airlines to use.
• The airport is located in the Mārupe municipality 5.4 NM west of Riga and is a state-owned joint-stock company, with the owner of all shares being the government of Latvia.
• In 2006, the new north terminal extension was opened.
• Riga International Airport is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to over 80 destinations in 30 countries.
• The furthest airport from Riga International Airport (RIX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,169 miles (17,975 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Riga International Airport is one of three notable airports in Latvia.
• Because of Riga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Riga International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The closest airport to Riga International Airport (RIX) is Šiauliai International Airport (SQQ), which is located 74 miles (120 kilometers) SSW of RIX.
• Riga International Airport (RIX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Riga International Airport", another name for RIX is "Starptautiskā lidosta “Rīga”".